Introduction

Jane Purchase had a difficult childhood, spending much of it in the Yeovil workhouse. By the age of 15, she was a dairymaid at Eastfield Farmhouse, Hardington. What became of her after that is unknown.

Birth at Hardington

Jane was born at Hardington in about 1845, the second of three illegitimate children born to Elizabeth Purchase.

Childhood in the workhouse

Jane probably spent her childhood in the Yeovil workhouse. She and her mother were there on 14 April 1845 when she was baptised at St John’s Church, Yeovil, and they were still there six years later.

Return to Hardington

By April 1861, Jane was a dairymaid at Eastfield Farmhouse in the household of John Whebby.

Later life

Jane’s later life is unknown.[1]

References

[1] She is probably not the same Jane Purchase who married Henry John Cole in about 1871.